The Circle of the Social Media Addicts
by kellineedsatony
Summary: An additional canto describing a new circle of hell in Dante's Inferno. Originally written for a class assignment.


Now we must move on to Circle 3 3/4. Virgil and I continued our journey through Hell by climbing several flights of stairs to a very clean white elevator with only one button. I looked inquisitively at my guide. He nodded at me, so I pressed it and the elevator went down. I suddenly became nervous, but Virgil reassured me, saying "Trust me, no one in this circle will be able to stop thinking about themselves long enough to care about you." The elevator doors opened and Virgil and I found ourselves in a dark hallway that looked very sterile. A man was standing nearby, and I recognized him as former Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

"What brings you here? From the way you are walking, I can tell you're alive," Steve inquired.

I responded, "Well, my teacher Mrs. Graham has sent me on an educational field trip through Hell."

"Alright, well, I suppose I should let you through. Go ahead," he admitted while scanning his finger on a device not yet seen on Earth. A previously unseen door whooshed open, and Virgil and I entered the Ring of the Social Media Addicts. It was very dark, and the only light came from the bright boxes that filled the room. The only sounds heard were those of electronic pings and clicks. I soon realized each illuminated box contained a person, isolated from the world as their addiction to technology isolated them in life. None of the sinners could interact with each other, they were all in their own separate worlds. The boxes were covered with mirrors, and the only thing the sinners could see was their own image. I asked one of the boxes "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Well thank you for asking! I'm swiftisbae13, follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, MySpace, Flickr, Facebook, and Vine! I had 1.2 million followers before I had to come here where there is NO WIFI! Ugh, I mean, really! Absolutely unacceptable. A girl's gotta keep up her image nowadays! Anyway, who are you? Are you, like, Tumblr famous or something?"

Virgil explained, "This is Susanna. We're on a field trip through Hell. How did you get here?"

"Well, supposedly I worried too much about social media in my life, but that is obviously some ridiculous idea from someone who's jealous of my talent. I had 1.2 million followers, you know."

"Yeah, I've heard," I retorted sarcastically. I did not find this sinner particularly endearing.

Virgil clearly didn't either, because he said, "It's been nice talking to you, um, swiftisbae13, but we've got to go."

"Okay, just remember to like my pics!" she exclaimed.

We began to walk along the rows of illuminated boxes. The electronic boxes looked like a graveyard, full of lives wasted on self-reflection and narcissism. Virgil and I walked along like two visitors to a museum, looking at each carefully constructed image with disdain. The artists had spent so much time creating their self-portraits, they had forgotten to observe the world. As we toured this nauseating exhibit, voices called out to us "Follow me!" and "Check out my new theme!" I thought it was interesting and somewhat pathetic that the sinners were still so obsessed with how the world saw them even though they couldn't see the world themselves. Even in Hell, they were still so blinded to all lives besides their own.

As Virgil and I neared the end of this strange display, a sinner exclaimed, "Who is this! Have I gained a follower? Make sure to like, comment, and subscribe! I post videos every Wednesday! I love my followers!". I recognized this voice as famous YouTube star ItsMeMaddie.

Virgil replied, "No thanks, not interested," and quickly steered me away from her, explaining, "She is quite possibly the worst offender in this Circle. She is so self-absorbed, it's not even worth it for us to try and talk to her." We walked past the rest of the boxes, and as we turned to go, Virgil said, "Let the pathetic behaviors of these sinners show you the dangers of social media. Please do not become so wrapped up in your image that you forget to enjoy your life, and don't be so caught up in electronic friends that you forget to make real ones." I had certainly been affected by these selfish fools, and I found myself less inclined to check Twitter as we moved ahead. Another set of doors flew open to allow us to exit, and Virgil reminded me "We still don't have much time, so let's proceed on to the Circle of the Avaricious." And with that statement by my guide, we continued our fascinating journey.


End file.
